World in figures: Industries

Infrastructure

All eyes are on Brazil, where an ambitious $66bn stimulus plan is a significant commitment to upgrading the country’s creaky infrastructure. Excitement at the prospects in South America will offset disappointment in South Asia, as India’s goal of spending $1trn on infrastructure in its current five-year plan looks like a pipe dream. Thanks to bureaucracy, corruption and a cash crunch, India will be lucky to achieve two-thirds of its goal.

In countries with deeper coffers, the building boom will accelerate. Construction will begin in earnest on more than 2,000km of railways linking the six oil-rich countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council, at an ultimate cost of $60bn. Fear of a slowing economy will prompt China to reinforce its commitment to big investment projects; it aims to build 13 new motorways, 25 urban railways and more than 80 airports.

To watch: Dutch courage. A major extension to the venerable Port of Rotterdam will welcome its first ships at the end of 2013. By 2033, the Maasvlakte 2 project will boost the giant port’s area by 20%, extend the Dutch coastline by 3.5km and add 2,000 hectares of new Netherlands in the process.